The expansion of “Hamad International” keeps pace with the great global demand for travel

The Airports Council International predicted that airports in the Middle East region will need to invest about $151 billion to increase capacity, in light of the expectation that global demand for air passengers will more than double in 2040, as it is estimated that the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions will attract 58% of airports. Global demand for air travelers.
The council indicated in a report that this requires a total investment of $2.4 trillion for the airports of the Middle East and Asia and the Pacific until 2040 to accommodate this growth, pointing out that approximately 19.7 billion passengers will travel to the world’s airports by 2040, and Middle East airports will receive about 1.1 billion. passengers from them, which represents a significant increase compared to 2019, when only 405 million passengers were received.
The Middle East region, which is located at a strategic crossroads of major economies in Asia, Africa and Europe, has turned into a major international hub, and it continues to be an inspiring growth story, as it is already among the fastest growing airports in the world given that it contains more than 110 airports representing 170 airports. million global traffic.
The total value of new airport construction projects combined amounted to $1.64 trillion, according to Global Data, while the global aircraft fleet is expected to reach 36,500 aircraft by 2031, while the size of the global airport construction market has been revised to $1.4 trillion by 2026, and there are many One of the countries that is following the development of airports very quickly now.
At the level of our region, it is likely that the expansion works of phase 2 (b) at Hamad International Airport in the passenger terminal, and the expansion of Concourse DY at Doha Airport, will begin this year, which will enhance the capacity of passengers to more than 60 million passengers annually, while the completion of The new cargo terminal by 2023 will include a new 3-storey facility and a built-up area of ​​85,000 square metres.
The expansion of the new Sharjah International Airport, at an estimated cost of $517 million, will be completed by the fourth quarter of 2024. The work includes building a new passenger terminal and supporting the infrastructure with the aim of increasing its capacity to accommodate 20 million passengers by 2023.
The $4.36 billion expansion of Terminal 2 at Kuwait Airport will also enhance the annual passenger capacity at the airport to 13 million passengers annually, with the flexibility to increase it to 25 million passengers and 50 million passengers in the future.
It is expected that the $250 million Musandam Airport in the Sultanate of Oman will be completed by the fourth quarter of 2026, as the works include the construction of two runways and a passenger terminal with a capacity of 250,000 passengers annually. In Egypt, plans are progressing for Terminal 4 at Cairo International Airport.
In turn, Saudi Arabia is preparing to build one of the largest airports in the world, which will have six parallel runways. This airport will help increase annual passenger traffic to 120 million by 2030, and 185 million by 2050. The Kingdom is working on implementing a huge program to expand and modernize airports to serve 330 million passengers by 2030, through investments amounting to $147 billion. The opening of the Red Sea International Airport in late December 2023. King Salman International Airport aims to accommodate up to 185 million passengers and handle 3.5 million tons of cargo by 2050.
Jeddah Airport City at King Abdulaziz International Airport is working to raise the development process based on airports to a new level, as its expansion can lead to an increase in passenger capacity to 114 million passengers annually, after its completion in 2028. The total investment is estimated at about $4.5 billion. It will be the first airport city development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in line with Vision 2030.